Pragati Academy

Pragati Academy is tucked away at Ac-29, Matri Niwas on Barwaritalla Main Road. We are in the Keshtopur area of Kolkata, 700102. If you know where Samar Shriti School is, we are very close to that. The academy is located on the ground floor of a residential building. It’s a quiet street for the most part, which is good for the students. We have a couple of rooms where classes take place. The walls could probably use a fresh coat of paint, but they're covered in student work anyway. We don't have a big sign outside, just a small one near the gate. Most of our students live in the apartments nearby in Keshtopur. They just walk over after their school bus drops them off. We don't follow a corporate model here. It’s just a few local teachers who want to help the neighborhood kids with their exams. We sit together, go through the chapters, and solve the exercises at the back of the books. Sometimes we have a little snack during the break if it’s a long session. It’s a very human way of doing things. We know all the students by name, and we know their parents too. It feels more like a community center than a formal academy. We just keep things running one day at a time without any fuss.